Samurai: The Story of a Warrior Tradition [Paperback]

Harry Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1998

For centuries, the Samurai dominated Japan. Although they have disappeared, their values--honor, loyalty, and bravery-continue to influence Japanese thought today. Where did these fierce warriors come from? How did they achieve such power? This engrossing history recounts the Samurai's foundation myths, the tales of princes and emperors who set the stage for the feudal system where the Samurai thrived, the battles that changed Japan's landscape and culture, and the emergence of the clans who became the Samurai's employers. Explore the "way of the warrior" in poetry and image: these contemporary documents reveal the Samurai's high regard for the bow and arrow, their codes of behavior and their attitudes toward fear and death. Photographs show rare surviving specimens of elaborate suits of armor, often beautiful weapons, and castles. Pages abound with drawings, paintings, and photos both classical and modern. Plentiful sidebars focus on especially significant and compelling events. Insightful and physically striking, this thrilling account will mesmerize readers everywhere. A complete history of the Samurai, and tales of how they came to dominate Japan for centuries. Sterling 144 pages (all in color), 8 1/2 x 11 3/8.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Cook's book provides a very succinct and well-illustrated starting point for those wishing to understand the central theme of the samurai tradition in Japanese culture. The author has been careful to show the samurai as a multidimensional cultural asset--not only a swordsman but a leader, businessman, etc. This is a refreshing treatment when compared with the more static writing generally available on the subject. The militaristic angle is not ignored, but the class is shown in the context of the times, from the tenth century to today. It is noteworthy that female samurai are given their due. This is an excellent choice for collections with little on the subject and a good addition for more comprehensive collections.
- Mike Heines, USAF Rome Laboratory Technical Lib., N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (June 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806906707
• ISBN-13: 978-0806906706
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,155,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative text with may interesting asides, December 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Samurai: The Story of a Warrior Tradition (Paperback)

This book is one of those books that when you start to read it you can't put it down. As well as the main text there are interseting asides that take you behind the scenes of the the lifes and times of a warrior race that was both bloody and brutal as well as being artistic and restrained. Mr. Cook has written a wonderful narative that take the reader inside the Samurai's world.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars HOW THE SAMURAI ROSE AND FELL, June 27, 2004

By 

Sesho "www.sesho.libsyn.com" (Pasadena, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samurai: The Story of a Warrior Tradition (Paperback)

Well, I have to tell you that I came to this book after I saw the movie The Last Samurai. While Hollywood movies can serve a positive function by exposing people to new ideas and cultures, they very rarely tell the truth about them. So I came to this book looking for a general introduction to the Samurai. This book did a good job of that by the use of reader-friendly prose and an abundance of illustrations.

The feudal system that came about in Japan was very similar to that of Western Europe, with a weak central government who owed its power to local warlords, who in turn had their own private armies. In Japan, the samurai, like the knights in Europe went from being simple warriors to the offical exemplars of the entire culture. They had their own code of chivalry, "Bushido", and would often kill themselves rather than suffer the dishonor of defeat. For a thousand years, they were the true power behind the throne of the emperor. Ironically, the demise of the samurai came about because of peace. What were these warriors supposed to do without a war? As seen in The Last Samurai, towards the end, they were even forbidden to wear their swords. In some respects, they were similar to the American Indians, in that a lot of them failed to assimilate to a culture that was rapidly being revolutionized by technology.

This book tells of all the major battles the samurai undertook, whether it was the native inhabitants of Japan, Mongol and Chinese invaders, or even civil wars between themselves. Individuals are given some treatment, such as Musashi, probably the greatest warrior of all time, and the samurai who united Japan into a unified country for the first time. What is sad is that the samurai turned away from the modern world in unreasonable hopes that it would just go away. The problem is that the world stops for noone. Just because the samurai didn't want to use gunpowder or fight naval battles, America and other world powers were able to come in and humiliate Japan in the 19th century. It just goes to show you that isolationism breeds stagnation.

I would highly recommend this book to general readers or those who would like a general introduction to Japanese and Samurai history. I would also recommend The Samurai Trilogy available in Criterion Collection DVDS, and also any samurai film by Akira Kurosawa. Also, I would recommend The Tales of the Otori novels by Lian Hearn.